Honduras 2013: Med packing

Osteopathic medical student Brian Sullivan was a member of Des Moines University’s largest and most interprofessional global health service team to date: More than 35 individuals – including students from five DMU programs and Drake University’s pharmacy program as well as faculty, clinicians and a social worker – spent March 16-24 providing health care, education and information to hundreds of under-served people in Honduras. It was DMU’s second service trip to the Central American nation, organized in partnership with Global Brigades, the world’s largest student-led global health and sustainable development organization.

Day 2:

Wake up was at 8:00 a.m. most of us rolled out of bed around 7:30 a.m. when the rooster started crowing. After a filling breakfast we spent the morning sorting and portioning out medications. The Drake Pharm students gave useful advice to us DMU students and we experienced a different aspect of medicine. I think most of us were glad we did not go into pharm.

After lunch we finished sorting out the meds and took a 30 minute break before heading to La Flora Azul, an orphanage 10 minutes from our compound. This orphanage was established by Global Brigades in 1998 after Hurricane Mitch. It consists of many cute little houses where the children live with a tia (translates to aunt) which is a former orphan that is now paid to stay.

At the orphanage we played some Futbol and jump rope with the kids. They had a great time and demolished us in the soccer game. They really enjoyed piggy back rides and our cell phones.

On the way back we stopped for some refreshing sodas and fried plantain, then piled back into the bus and headed to the compound.

Dinner was served and we had a meeting about the first day of clinic. In the meeting, people were assigned positions for the various stations and we went over the expectations. Afterwards we called it a night.

Comments

Brian Sullivan is a member of the D.O. class of 2016. He is originally from Conover, NC and graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne University with a BS in Biology and Chemistry. Being an athlete at his undergraduate university, Brian really enjoys staying active. Last summer he and his fiancée ran a half-marathon together and are always up for a physical challenge. After a medical mission trip to Haiti in 2010 Brian decided to pursue a career in medicine with the goal of contributing to global health. He is looking forward to keep everyone in the loop with the DMU/Global Brigades Medical Mission Trip to Honduras.